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I think I realized my issue. What I thought was the notch in the crank for piston TDC, it was simply a blank area on the crank. I.E. nothing to see at all. I cycled the crank to where I thought piston was all the way at the top, and found the attached. Could you confirm that's the notch I should be looking for? If so, I def don't have the cams aligned with the piston locked in that position.

Well that doesn't help me out... you can see in the video there is a notch and the piston is clearly not at the top of the stroke.
There's only one way to have the cam dots align in the center so I'm not sure there's another TDC you mention... maybe if they are on the opposite side.
At the cam TDC configuration below my feeler gauge is .006 exhaust and .005 intake which is spec. I think my cams are right for TDC but not the piston. Looking for help

2016 250 sx-f 40 hours. Switched to a manual cam chain tensioner and the bike all of a sudden wouldn't start and was spitting and sputtering... my natural instinct was it skipped a tooth. I pulled the cams and tried to get everything back in time.... however, I think there might be two notches in the crankshaft to get the piston at TDC. Video explains it pretty well but I wanted to make sure my assumption is right before I pull the cams again

Plug length is correct... newer FI bikes the plug goes through the valve cover and needs to be longer. Side by side pic of replacement plug, which is factory NGK PN per service manual.
I think im just going to get as much dirt sucked up as possible then flush the oil a couple times. I'll be doing top end in 15 hours so I'll use compressed air when I have the head off at that time.

First download a service manual.
To to put into time, there is a bolt with hex head next to the clutch cover. Remove that bolt and you can see the crank. Turn the crank to TDC - a lot of people like to put a straw in the spark plug hole to see at its greatest height for TDC. To confirm at TDC, you can look through that bolt hole and the crank will have a notch in it. Once found, remove the washer from the hex bolt and install to lock piston and crank at TDC. I'm assuming cams are off but you will notice dots or impressions on either cam gear. Those need to align horizontally on the inside with piston at TDC. Mount timing chain and tensioner.
I'd still recommend following service manual.

Does anyone else have this problem? The boot on my 250sxf's ignition coil doesn't appear to be sealing the spark plug hold around the valve cover. As a result, I'm getting a pretty significant amount of dirt down in the spark plug hole as I noticed when pulling the plug today. If so, is this just a known issue?
Also, when I thread the new spark plug, I will almost certainly get dirt in the cylinder. My thought is to just drain/flush oil before starting. I have about another 15 hours till it's time for top end so when I do, I'll spray compressed air in the spark plug hole when I have the head off. Does this sound like a good plan?

2016 KTM 250 sx-f. 32 hours
Purchased bike used and pulled the spark plug today and noticed what I would say is a significant amount of dirt on the threads. This bike is FI with plug and coil down the top center of the head through the valve cover rather than on the side of the motor. It looks like the coil doesn't 100% seal on the valve cover which would be my guess for the dirt. I haven't had the head off to inspect top end but I doubt any dirt made it through in the cylinder. Should I be worried?
Also, not sure what I should do if anything, with the dirt on the threads. Only real option for dirt removal is compressed air but I'd be blowing directly in the cylinder. When I pull the head and do top end at 50 hours I'll clean the threads then

Wow this is extremely helpful and I don't know why I didn't think to go look at a parts fische. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I can almost bet I didn't notice different thickness steel plates so I will dive back in and check. Thanks again!

Bought a used 2016 250 sxf with 30 hours and the clutch seemed gone to me. When I pulled the cover, there was 7 steel plates and 7 friction plates, starting with a steel plate. The clutch kit I purchased came with 8 steel plates and 7 friction plates. My service manual didn't appear to specify the correct quantity, however I installed all 8 steel plates and 7 friction plates. Seems to ride fine. Is this correct? I purchased this bike used from a Pro with two full time mechanics so I'd be surprised if they installed the clutch wrong but I'm unsure

I have a fairly expensive electric bed cover to which I did not want to strap my bikes up against. In doing so, I purchased a couple Risk Racing lockable mounting systems. For those that are unfamiliar, I simply role my bikes up into the system and compress the lockable top jaws down on the foot pegs. There are safety pins to make me feel better during transport. To unload, I just loosen the lock nut and uncompress the spring loaded lock jaws.
I will say it is much nicer without straps in the way! This is a fairly universal system and the easiness seems to be dependent on the height of your pegs. Mine are a little higher and takes a little more effort to compress the system, but overall not too terrible. Satisfied with the system and I now have the bikes not strapped against the bed cover. Pictures below
video of bed cover: